Post by Micro on Oct 7, 2011 5:11:26 GMT -5
They call it Satan's Prison; A demented steel structure 16 feet high and 36 feet in diameter with over 2 miles of chains, all weighing over 10 tons! Eric Bischoff announced this twisted new type of match in October of 2002 and it made its nightmarish debut at Survivor Series the following month. The match is brutally simple: Two competitors begin in the ring while four others wait within locked chambers. Every five minutes, a random chamber is opened until all competitors are loose inside the caged structure. The match continues until everyone is eliminated, by pinfall or submission, and one final combatant remains standing!
I always liked specialty cage matches so when I first saw the Elimination Chamber, I was blown away! I think it's one of the coolest-looking structures that WWE ever created. It's a sick match and perhaps it's appropriate that my 666th post will be spent writing about this demonic creation! When I heard the news from SDCC that Mattel was going to release an Elimination Chamber playset this Fall, I was excited. Thanks to Chewdeezy's tip yesterday, I learned that the time had finally come! A quick call to my local TRU confirmed that they had them in stock. I made a late evening drive and grabbed one of the two boxes that they had out on the shelves. Like the Colossal Crashdown Arena, the Elimination Chamber is hard to miss due to the big box!
They weren't kidding when they said that some assembly was required! In my review of the Colossal Crashdown Arena, I mentioned that it had the most parts out of any playset but the Elimination Chamber easily beats it. I had to clear out my entire arena space to have enough room to spread everything out!
It may look as intimidating as the match itself but fortunately, it's really easy to assemble. Just build up one chamber pod and wall, repeat the process three more times, and snap it all together! Once you get into the groove of things, it all starts to come together nicely!
Once the cage base is set up, attach the four roof panels, and the eight support legs underneath, and you're done!
Ok, before we see the finished product, allow me to briefly talk about the ring. It's a standard Basic ring with the Elimination Chamber logo on the ring skirt stickers.
There, that's it...I told you it was going to be brief!
Now then, how does all this come together? Easy, you just pick up the Elimination Chamber and fit it over the Basic ring.
It's such a simple system and a very clean design by Mattel. The whole caged structure is incredibly light too. I was afraid that it would be flimsy when lifted but all the pieces snap on tighly and keep the whole thing remarkably sturdy and stable. Once fitted in place, everything is flush with the ring and looks great. Another cool thing about this design is that you can easily change the ring around. Want to make it a Smackdown or ECW Elimination Chamber? No problem, just lift the cage and swap it with any Basic ring. I tried out my Smackdown Breakdown Brawl ring, for added sickness, and it fits perfectly!
Now that the cage is lowered in place, you're ready for some hardcore mayhem!
Ok, it all looks cool but what about playability?
First of all, remember that this is NOT a full-scale Elimination Chamber that's compatible with the ESR. It's scaled down for Basic rings and not 100% accurate. Due to the smaller size, the chamber pods are located adjacent to the corner ring posts, instead of being behind them. The space inside is a bit tight and the entire playset takes up a 24x24" area and is 14" tall. To put it in perspective, it almost fits inside the ESR. I mean, it will fit but the ropes will get stretched out a little.
That being said, it's still a decent size for a playset. A real-scaled Elimination Chamber would be huge and probably not very practical for storage or display. Personally, if Mattel were ever to make an ESR-compatible playset, I'd want it to be the classic Steel Cage above everything else. I'm content with this version of the EC!
So...How do you play with it?
Well, despite being scaled down, Mattel made it accessible and user-friendly. Every other wall panel serves as a swinging door, so you can have four of them opened up to be able to reach inside, set up your participants in their pods, and move them anywhere during play.
For my example, I'm going to make it Undertaker vs. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Bret Hart! For those wondering how the bigger guys would fare, I'm happy to report that Mattel had the foresight to make the chambers pods large enough for anyone. Yes, the Great Khali, Big Show, and Mark Henry fit nicely inside the pods!
Ok, we're all set...But how do you get your guys out of the pods? Just pull on the little tabs outside the chamber and you can slide the "plexiglass" panels open!
Cool, everybody is finally unleashed...But do they actually have any room to move around inside?
Granted, six figures inside a Basic ring is no fun but if you utilize the entire space, it's actually not bad. Remember, the whole area is about as big as the ESR so there's plenty of room for six figures to move around. You even have enough space to put most figures on the top rope, although they'll hit their heads if they jump too high, heheh!
Overall, this is a pretty cool playset! The chamber looks great with the sculpted chains, panels, and floor grating. The craftsmanship of the design is amazing; Easy to build, and play with, while remaining lightweight and sturdy. There are no gimmicky action features to detract from the aesthetics of this playset. All the essentials working pieces, the cage doors and sliding "plexiglass" panels, are integrated nicely and work great. It's a little pricey right now, at $64.99, but if you see it on sale or have some TRU discount coupons, I recommend picking it up. It could be the perfect WWE holiday gift this season!
(Final Note: For anyone that's interested in getting this playset but wants to call ahead, the SKU number for this set is: 027084954241...Hopefully, this makes it easier to track down at your local TRU!) ;D
I always liked specialty cage matches so when I first saw the Elimination Chamber, I was blown away! I think it's one of the coolest-looking structures that WWE ever created. It's a sick match and perhaps it's appropriate that my 666th post will be spent writing about this demonic creation! When I heard the news from SDCC that Mattel was going to release an Elimination Chamber playset this Fall, I was excited. Thanks to Chewdeezy's tip yesterday, I learned that the time had finally come! A quick call to my local TRU confirmed that they had them in stock. I made a late evening drive and grabbed one of the two boxes that they had out on the shelves. Like the Colossal Crashdown Arena, the Elimination Chamber is hard to miss due to the big box!
They weren't kidding when they said that some assembly was required! In my review of the Colossal Crashdown Arena, I mentioned that it had the most parts out of any playset but the Elimination Chamber easily beats it. I had to clear out my entire arena space to have enough room to spread everything out!
It may look as intimidating as the match itself but fortunately, it's really easy to assemble. Just build up one chamber pod and wall, repeat the process three more times, and snap it all together! Once you get into the groove of things, it all starts to come together nicely!
Once the cage base is set up, attach the four roof panels, and the eight support legs underneath, and you're done!
Ok, before we see the finished product, allow me to briefly talk about the ring. It's a standard Basic ring with the Elimination Chamber logo on the ring skirt stickers.
There, that's it...I told you it was going to be brief!
Now then, how does all this come together? Easy, you just pick up the Elimination Chamber and fit it over the Basic ring.
It's such a simple system and a very clean design by Mattel. The whole caged structure is incredibly light too. I was afraid that it would be flimsy when lifted but all the pieces snap on tighly and keep the whole thing remarkably sturdy and stable. Once fitted in place, everything is flush with the ring and looks great. Another cool thing about this design is that you can easily change the ring around. Want to make it a Smackdown or ECW Elimination Chamber? No problem, just lift the cage and swap it with any Basic ring. I tried out my Smackdown Breakdown Brawl ring, for added sickness, and it fits perfectly!
Now that the cage is lowered in place, you're ready for some hardcore mayhem!
Ok, it all looks cool but what about playability?
First of all, remember that this is NOT a full-scale Elimination Chamber that's compatible with the ESR. It's scaled down for Basic rings and not 100% accurate. Due to the smaller size, the chamber pods are located adjacent to the corner ring posts, instead of being behind them. The space inside is a bit tight and the entire playset takes up a 24x24" area and is 14" tall. To put it in perspective, it almost fits inside the ESR. I mean, it will fit but the ropes will get stretched out a little.
That being said, it's still a decent size for a playset. A real-scaled Elimination Chamber would be huge and probably not very practical for storage or display. Personally, if Mattel were ever to make an ESR-compatible playset, I'd want it to be the classic Steel Cage above everything else. I'm content with this version of the EC!
So...How do you play with it?
Well, despite being scaled down, Mattel made it accessible and user-friendly. Every other wall panel serves as a swinging door, so you can have four of them opened up to be able to reach inside, set up your participants in their pods, and move them anywhere during play.
For my example, I'm going to make it Undertaker vs. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Bret Hart! For those wondering how the bigger guys would fare, I'm happy to report that Mattel had the foresight to make the chambers pods large enough for anyone. Yes, the Great Khali, Big Show, and Mark Henry fit nicely inside the pods!
Ok, we're all set...But how do you get your guys out of the pods? Just pull on the little tabs outside the chamber and you can slide the "plexiglass" panels open!
Cool, everybody is finally unleashed...But do they actually have any room to move around inside?
Granted, six figures inside a Basic ring is no fun but if you utilize the entire space, it's actually not bad. Remember, the whole area is about as big as the ESR so there's plenty of room for six figures to move around. You even have enough space to put most figures on the top rope, although they'll hit their heads if they jump too high, heheh!
Overall, this is a pretty cool playset! The chamber looks great with the sculpted chains, panels, and floor grating. The craftsmanship of the design is amazing; Easy to build, and play with, while remaining lightweight and sturdy. There are no gimmicky action features to detract from the aesthetics of this playset. All the essentials working pieces, the cage doors and sliding "plexiglass" panels, are integrated nicely and work great. It's a little pricey right now, at $64.99, but if you see it on sale or have some TRU discount coupons, I recommend picking it up. It could be the perfect WWE holiday gift this season!
(Final Note: For anyone that's interested in getting this playset but wants to call ahead, the SKU number for this set is: 027084954241...Hopefully, this makes it easier to track down at your local TRU!) ;D
But great review anyway Micro! Will we be seeing a Chamber match in the pic fed???
